Summer tire test from "Auto Mail" - 2026

For its new test, the "Auto Mail" portal decided to select tires for crossovers in the size of 225/60 R18, taking models of various price classes for testing. Of particular interest, of course, is the fact that Russian premium-class tires, namely Ikon Autograph Aqua 3 SUV, met in direct comparison with their "classmate" from a recognized Western brand, which was Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV, but it should be noted that Aqua 3 is the same as Nokian Hakka Blue 3, and the Finnish manufacturer has never been among the leaders in the summer tire segment. At the same time, Pilot Sport 4 is no longer a novelty, and in 2022, the fifth-generation model was presented.

And here it is necessary to indicate immediately that Michelin is not officially supplied to Russia, and their price in the chosen size is almost twice as high as that of Ikon, and the list of participants included tires that are three times cheaper than the product of the French brand, and we are talking about Sailun Atrezzo Elite 2, which the company produces at its plant in Vietnam - Sailun was one of the first Chinese tire manufacturers to start opening enterprises abroad, and now tires under this brand are manufactured from Indonesia to Mexico.

The Chinese Linglong Grip Master C/S, developed specifically for crossovers and recently renamed to Sport Master C/S, are three thousand rubles more expensive than Sailun. The list of participants also included Cordiant Gravity SUV, the flagship model of the domestic brand in the summer segment, Pirelli Scorpion Verde, Yokohama BluEarth-XT AE61 (both tires were manufactured in Russia) and Hankook Dynapro HPX. A significant difference of Hankook is that they are the only ones in the test considered all-season, and their tread pattern is adapted, among other things, for use on snow, which, as the tests confirmed, affected the performance on asphalt.

Last year, the tests were carried out at the NA MI testing center in Dmitrov, and this time the testers conducted a comparison of tires at an airfield in the Krasnodar region, as a result of which it was necessary to slightly change the testing methodology, and lateral stability on a wet surface was evaluated not during a turn, but during a rearrangement. The Exeed LX acted as the power unit, and all emergency maneuvers were carried out with the stability system turned on.

One of the most important disciplines in the tests of summer tires is traditionally considered to be braking on a wet asphalt, and here Ikon was able to beat Michelin, although, to be fair, the difference in the results was extremely insignificant. The leaders were followed by Yokohama, and the worst result was shown by Hankook.

On a dry surface, Michelin stops the car faster than its competitors, and Ikon takes second place, while the all-season Hankook, and this is quite expected, are again the last.

In a rearrangement on a wet surface, the best are again Michelin, the second place is taken by Pirelli, from which Cordiant lagged behind with a minimal gap, while Yokohama and Sailun were lagging behind.

On a dry surface, the best handling of emergency maneuvers is shown by the sports Michelin, and silver, and this is already unexpected, is taken by Hankook. The Ikon tires became third, and perhaps the result of the Russian brand's tires would have been higher if the Autograph Ultra 2 SUV Ultra-High Performance class had been tested, but they are not produced in the chosen size - perhaps they will be available in the Autograph Ultra 5 SUV, whose premiere will take place in 2026, and this will be the first UHP-tire developed by Ikon Tyres itself.

In the test for handling on a dry surface, Michelin became the leader, which deserved praise for its straight-line, but not too sharp, like, for example, Pirelli, reactions to steering wheel turns. The response is very fast, and experts noted that "even the Exeed suddenly acquires a "noble" behavior on the road". The worst were recognized as Linglong, on which, according to the testers, "you have to constantly adjust the unexpected skids that arise", which is unlikely to please anyone.

What Michelin lacks is fuel efficiency, and in this discipline they have the last place, while Yokohama provides the highest energy consumption efficiency.

The comfort of the ride was also evaluated, and here Sailun reached their "star hour", while Linglong showed the worst result.

With the level of comfort, Sailun is absolutely all right, since they, along with Yokohama, were also the quietest in the test, but this cannot compensate for the obvious lack of cross-grip on both dry and wet surfaces.

Verdict

The first place in the overall standings is taken by Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV, which won in all disciplines related to safety, and only in braking on a wet surface did they minimally concede to Ikon. This means that Michelin has an excellent balance of characteristics - but it also has a truly "cosmic" price, and in addition, experts noted that the tires wear out quite quickly.

The Ikon Autograph Aqua 3 SUV deservedly ranked second, and their main advantage was called confident behavior in any situation. According to the testers, the Exeed on Russian brand tires "does everything predictably, without frightening with sharp reactions or unexpected skids", and in addition, only they were able to overtake Michelin in terms of braking on a wet surface. Ikon had an average result in the rearrangement on a wet surface, but summing up, the testers stated: "Most drivers can safely recommend this tire. Ikon is more expensive than the main competitors, but it has balanced characteristics".

The Yokohama BluEarth-XT AE61 distinguished itself by the lowest noise level, and it also has a fairly good braking efficiency, but the cross-grip is noticeably worse, and on a wet surface, the tires in the rearrangement shared the last place with Sailun. "In terms of handling, there are also no frills - when exceeding the limit, the car on the Yokohama begins to skid outward with the front wheels. Suitable for calm drivers who value comfort", - noted the experts.

The Pirelli Scorpion Verde tires were prevented from entering the top three by a relatively long braking distance, both on dry and wet surfaces, and although they are perfect for active maneuvers, "it's better to keep a distance".

The all-season Hankook Dynapro HPX tires have expectedly longer braking distances than specialized summer tires, but they were able to surprise with a very good result in the rearrangement on a dry surface. At the same time, in the handling test, the tires predictably concede positions, and "the car on Hankook begins to "squeal" with tires, forcing to reduce speed".

The Sailun Atrezzo Elite 2 distinguished themselves by a very smooth ride and excellent acoustic comfort, and the braking distance on a dry surface is also quite short, but on a wet surface, everything is not so good with braking, and during the rearrangement, even more serious problems arose: "the sidewall bends so that the Exeed almost touches the road with the disc itself. Due to this, it first skids outward in a skid, and then sharply falls into a skid, and only when the front wheels restore contact with the surface".

As the testers suggested, the reason for such performance may be the width of the tread's contact patch, which is 15 mm narrower than that of Pirelli, and "the shoulder areas are made sloping, which also does not contribute to good grip in the transverse direction".

The unexpected thing was the penultimate place of Cordiant Gravity SUV, which, if we do not count the all-season Hankook, turned out to be the worst in terms of braking on both wet and dry surfaces. According to the experts, the reason may be that the SUV version was adapted for off-road use - stone ejectors and bevels were added to the central ribs, and the size of the slots in the shoulder areas was increased - and this affected the braking properties on asphalt, and in addition, Cordiant has a fairly high rolling resistance. At the same time, the tread with high stiffness provides good handling on a wet road, and in "Auto Mail" they say that "we partly intentionally "collided" the flagship of the Cordiant line with representatives of a higher premium segment to show that in some parameters, the Russian mid-range segment can compete with premium competitors, often conceding to them insignificantly".

The last place was taken by the Linglong Grip Master C/S tires, and here it is necessary to know only that they, according to the testers, "can be safely recommended to those who want to train their counter-steering skills": "To show an acceptable result in the rearrangement, you have to constantly fight even with the Exeed, which is equipped with a stability system. The crossover first falls into a serious skid, and then, when the front wheels restore contact, it sharply goes into a skid".

In general, the behavior of Linglong is very similar to that of Sailun, but the level of comfort is "lost" to them, since they turned out to be the noisiest and most "wooden", and "it's unpleasant to drive on them even in standard modes - the Exeed LX constantly jerks the whole body on barely noticeable cracks in the asphalt". Verdict: not recommended.